NCAA Tournament Eve -- My Thoughts on the Tournament
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 9:44PM 
With so many different projects with work, I haven’t really gotten around to writing down my thoughts on the NCAA Tournament. As we are now on the eve of the madness, I am pretty pumped up for the games to start. I will be in Indy for the Final Four and I can’t wait for all of the drama to unfold.
I am a one bracket guy. I don’t understand people who fill out multiple brackets. As I filled out mine I was looking for some upsets. In a tournament that is so wide open, it was hard for me to find that Cinderella. It seemed most of the time I took the favorite in most matchups. Last year that worked well for me. I picked all the number one seeds to the final four (caught hell for it!), and I won some nice change in three of the contests I entered.
One of the reasons I think it is hard to find a great upset story is that six of the mid-majors are paired against each other. I think that is a real travesty. We see teams like Oklahoma State and Georgia Tech, or Texas and Wake Forest play each other all season long. It is impossible for mid-majors to schedule a home game against a big boy, so the Tournament is the small school’s chance to shine. So what happen…Northern Iowa gets UNLV, Butler is against UTEP, and Richmond has St. Mary’s. What a joke. How about Butler versus Florida? (wait a minute we’ve seen that…and the Dogs won!) Or maybe Northern Iowa against Louisville? That would make much more sense. I grew up an Aces and Ball State fan so I am always cheering for the little guys.
As for the bluebloods, I completely agree with most that Kentucky and Kansas just got hosed on their draw. It is amazing the difference between Duke’s run and Kentucky’s. Heck, West Virginia is the #2 seed in the East and the Mountaineers have an easier road to the region finals than top seeded UK.
How about Tournament expansion? I have my theory that I have talked about in the podcasts with Sean Bartel as well as on a radio show that I am on in North Carolina. It is this (and tell me your thoughts). I do think there is some merit to expansion. I think the NCAA made a mistake by letting in so many schools into Division I the past 15 years…so the field is much larger and you can justify a small increase. 96? No way.
This is what I would do. Expand the team by 7 to 72. Have 8 teams in the play-in round. However, the 8 teams must be the final 8 teams to receive an at-large bid. Those four games are staggered on Tuesday so you can watch them all. It would make Tuesday so much more exciting. This year it would be Florida, Minnesota, Utah State, Wake Forest, Mississippi State, Rhode Island, etc etc. The main 64 team bracket stays intact, and you get a bump in expansion but not too much. Plus, you add another day of excitement with four play-in games.
I always thought the two play-in teams got shafted. They made their dream a reality. They won their conference tournament and earned a ticket to the Big Dance. Instead, they get swept aside to Dayton for a game that few care about.
The first two days of the Tournament are the best. I really hope for some buzzer beaters and bracket busters!
Here is to hoping your bracket doesn’t have too many red X’s and for a tournament to remember!
Reader Comments (2)
Good thought, but your idea would need 68 teams to work, not 72. 60 would get "byes", the final 8 would playoff and the 4 winners would be added to the field to make 64.
Mike Miller would like to remind you that Butler lost to Florida. It was close, but they lost.
You are correct coach. That's what I get for double checking with Randall! Ha. It was creighton I was thinking of.